Preparing Teachers to Maximize the Potential of Young Students with Gifts and Talents

In recent years, state and national level attention to students with the highest potential has been diverted to those struggling to achieve at minimum proficiency levels. Meanwhile, school districts wrestle with ensuring that high-ability young students demonstrate annual yearly progress. Decreased school budgets during the current decade have forced many school administrators to consolidate or eliminate specialized services for their most capable students by reallocating funds previously directed toward gifted education. The intent of this chapter is to help general and special educators to maximize the potential of young students with gifts and talents by providing programs and services that match their unique characteristics and needs. These students have a right to an appropriate education, one grounded in the recognition of individual differences and unique learning needs. They also need a curriculum and educators responsive to their individual learning rates, styles, and complexities. This is the goal of this chapter.